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John Anderson (ice hockey)

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John Anderson
Born (1957-03-28) March 28, 1957 (age 67)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Quebec Nordiques
Hartford Whalers
National team  Canada
NHL draft 11th overall, 1977
Toronto Maple Leafs
WHA draft 14th overall, 1977
Quebec Nordiques
Playing career 1977–1994

John Murray Anderson (born March 28, 1957) is a Canadian former ice hockey right winger. He was the head coach of the Chicago Wolves of the International Hockey League (IHL) and American Hockey League (AHL) from 1997 to 2008 ,again from 2013 to 2016. Anderson also serves as interim head coach for the Wolves in 2023. In the National Hockey League (NHL), he is a former head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers and assistant coach of the Phoenix Coyotes and Minnesota Wild. He played 12 seasons in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, and Hartford Whalers.

Playing career

As a youth, Anderson played in the 1969 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Wexford, Toronto.[1] Anderson was the captain of his junior team, the Toronto Marlboros.

Anderson was drafted in the first round, 11th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft. He played 814 career NHL games, scoring 282 goals and 349 assists for 631 points from 1977–78 until 1988–89. Anderson was beginning to establish himself during his third season in Toronto when the club made a four-player trade with the Vancouver Canucks that brought winger Rick Vaive and centre Bill Derlago to Toronto. Anderson was paired with the two new acquisitions to form a high scoring line for the Maple Leafs. His best statistical season was the 1982–83 season, when he set career highs with 49 assists and 80 points. Following the 1984–85 season, the fourth year in a row that Anderson had scored 30-or-more goals for the Maple Leafs, he was traded to the Quebec Nordiques for defensemen Brad Maxwell.

Anderson continued to be a valued goal scorer with Quebec and had scored 21 goals when he was traded to the Hartford Whalers. Anderson then ended the 1985–86 season in Hartford with 25 points in 14 games following the trade, finishing the season with 29 goals and 74 points before scoring another 13 points in ten playoff games. The following year, his first full year with Hartford, Whalers sniper Sylvain Turgeon battled injuries and Anderson filled in as the top left wing on the team. He hit the 30-goal plateau for the fifth and final time of his career finishing with 31 goals and 75 points, good for the third highest point total on the team. Anderson scored the winning goal against the New York Rangers on April 4, 1987, to give the Hartford Whalers their only division championship. He played two more years in Hartford before playing the last five seasons of his career in the minor leagues, primarily the International Hockey League, where he was a solid goal scorer.

Post-playing career

Chicago Wolves banner honoring Anderson's coaching history with the franchise

Anderson coached the 1995–96 Winston-Salem Mammoths to the Southern Hockey League finals during the league's only season where they lost to the Huntsville Channel Cats.[2] In 1996–97, Anderson coached the Quad City Mallards to their first Colonial Hockey League championship in the franchise's second season.[3]

In 1997, Anderson was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Wolves in the International Hockey League (IHL) and later in the American Hockey League (AHL). He became the Wolves' all-time coaching leader in wins with 371 and for postseason victories with 80. Anderson led the Wolves in winning the Turner Cup and Calder Cup four times in his initial eleven seasons at the team's helm. His team was crowned league champions in 1998, 2000 in the IHL and 2002 and 2008 in the AHL.[4] Anderson coached the American gold medal-winning team in the 2007 Jewish World Cup hockey tournament in Israel.[5]

On June 20, 2008, Anderson was named as the fourth head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers.[6] On October 10, 2008, Anderson won his first game as an NHL coach 7–4 against his good friend Bruce Boudreau's Washington Capitals. On April 14, 2010, Anderson was released as head coach of the Thrashers after two seasons.[7]

On July 12, 2011, Anderson became an assistant coach for the Phoenix Coyotes.[8] On July 10, 2013, Anderson was rehired as the head coach of the Chicago Wolves. After leaving the Wolves in 2016,[4] he joined the Minnesota Wild as an assistant head coach until 2018.[9] In February 2022, he agreed to join the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL as an assistant coach for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[10]

For his achievements with coaching the Wolves, he was named to the AHL Hall of Fame in 2019.[11]

Anderson also helped establish John Anderson's, a diner best known for its "Banquet Burger", as well as its $4 breakfast special. The original restaurant is located at Victoria Park Ave. and Van Horne Ave. in Toronto, Ontario.[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1972–73 Markham Waxers MetJHL — — — — — — — — — —
1973–74 Markham Waxers OPJHL — — — — — — — — — —
1973–74 Toronto Marlboros OHA 38 22 22 44 6 — — — — —
1974–75 Toronto Marlboros OMJHL 70 49 64 113 31 22 16 14 30 14
1974–75 Toronto Marlboros M-Cup — — — — — 4 4 6 10 2
1975–76 Toronto Marlboros OMJHL 39 26 25 51 19 10 7 4 11 7
1976–77 Toronto Marlboros OMJHL 64 57 62 119 42 6 3 5 8 0
1977–78 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 52 22 23 45 6 13 11 8 19 2
1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 17 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 0 0
1978–79 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 71 15 11 26 10 6 0 2 2 0
1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 25 28 53 22 3 1 1 2 0
1980–81 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 75 17 26 43 31 2 0 0 0 0
1981–82 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 31 26 57 30 — — — — —
1982–83 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 80 31 49 80 24 4 2 4 6 0
1983–84 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 73 37 31 68 22 — — — — —
1984–85 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 75 32 31 63 27 — — — — —
1985–86 Quebec Nordiques NHL 65 21 28 49 26 — — — — —
1985–86 Hartford Whalers NHL 14 8 17 25 2 10 5 8 13 0
1986–87 Hartford Whalers NHL 76 31 44 75 19 6 1 2 3 0
1987–88 Hartford Whalers NHL 63 17 32 49 20 — — — — —
1988–89 Hartford Whalers NHL 62 16 24 40 28 4 0 1 1 2
1989–90 Binghamton Whalers AHL 3 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
1989–90 HC Milano Saima ITA 9 7 9 16 18 — — — — —
1989–90 EHC Chur CHE-2 3 2 0 2 0 — — — — —
1990–91 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 63 40 43 83 24 1 3 0 3 0
1991–92 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 68 41 54 95 24 4 0 4 4 0
1992–93 San Diego Gulls IHL 65 34 46 80 18 11 5 6 11 4
1993–94 San Diego Gulls IHL 72 24 24 48 32 4 1 1 2 8
NHL totals 814 282 349 631 263 37 9 18 27 2

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1977 Canada WJC 7 10 5 15 6
1983 Canada WC 6 2 2 4 6
1985 Canada WC 9 5 2 7 18
Senior totals 15 7 4 11 24

NHL coaching statistics

Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L OTL Pts Division rank Result
ATL 2008–09 82 35 41 6 76 4th in Southeast Missed playoffs
ATL 2009–10 82 35 34 13 83 2nd in Southeast Missed playoffs
Total 164 70 75 19

References

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "John Anderson". hockeydb.com. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Wendland, Jeff (January 11, 2017). "Making a difference: Cornfield built the Mallards into a winner on and off the ice". The Dispatch/The Rock Island Argus. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Kuc, Chris (June 2, 2016). "AHL's Chicago Wolves part ways with coach John Anderson". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  5. ^ Lungen, Paul (November 13, 2008). "Bench Bosses Named for World Jewish Tournament". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved August 11, 2018. The Americans, who promise to be strong again in 2009, were led by former NHLer John Anderson to their gold-medal win in 2007
  6. ^ "Atlanta Thrashers Hire John Anderson as New Head Coach". The Hockey News. The Canadian Press. June 20, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  7. ^ "Thrashers fire John Anderson". The Globe and Mail. April 14, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  8. ^ "Coyotes add Anderson as assistant coach". Sportsnet. July 12, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  9. ^ "Wild Hire John Anderson To Fill Out Boudreau's Staff". minnesota.cbslocal.com. June 8, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  10. ^ "AHL Hall of Famer John Anderson Joins Condors as Assistant Coach". OurSports Central. February 16, 2022.
  11. ^ "AHL Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2019". AHL. October 4, 2018.
  12. ^ Duhatschek, Eric (May 31, 2005). "Anderson's name lives on, with a little sizzle". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
Preceded by Head coaches of the Atlanta Thrashers
2008–10 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coaches of the Chicago Wolves
1997–2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Toronto Maple Leafs first round draft pick
1977 		Succeeded by
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